


Put on a Show

by bad_at_everything



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Cliche, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Lance (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-22 03:08:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17051927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bad_at_everything/pseuds/bad_at_everything
Summary: “We need to keep fake dating.” Lance and Keith say at the same time, eyes widening.“Wait, really?” Lance asks, because he had been prepared to beg and grovel at Keith’s feet like a common peasant. He’d even practiced his begging face in the mirror. Keith sighs, looking a little bit humbled, which, honestly, is a nice color on him.





	Put on a Show

**Author's Note:**

> i just finished my first semester of college so you guys get this

It’s Valentine’s Day, and for the first time in awhile, Lance finds himself with no plans. Nothing. No significant other, not a single date, no “just lunch” with one of the cute girls in his Ed Psych class, no parties. His dating life has been dry and uneventful since the Christmas Day Dumping by his last girlfriend, which had been absolutely awful.

So, despite his best efforts and previously successful pick up lines, Lance has come up empty handed on this, the day of love.

Which explains why he’s so bored. 

He’s had the entire apartment to himself all morning, since every single one of his roommates had plans with their significant others. Allura and Romelle had gone ice skating, Hunk had met up with Shay to do their annual dessert crawl (romantic for the first time, which is exciting) and Pidge had holed herself in her room to have a skype date with her internet datemate.

Lance sprawls out on the island bar, stretching out his leg. He’s two inches short of kicking the dangling ceiling light, even when he points his toes. Already this morning he’s cleaned the kitchen, done all his homework, beaten the Water Temple level in Ocarina of Time, and made and eaten two sandwiches.

He glances upside down at the clock on the oven, hoping that maybe the day has flown by already, and soon he won’t be alone on Valentine’s Day.

10:37 AM.

The numbers blink at him mockingly, and god, Lance has got to find something to do before he goes all Tom Hanks in Castaway. The toaster is already begging to be called Wilson. 

His phone buzzes from across the room, a calling card from fate. He sits up, sliding off the counter and skidding to his phone. Maybe somebody finally came to their senses and is asking him out. 

Instead, his shoulders sink in disappointment as he sees it's just a corporate email. Until he actually reads it. 

_Email from: Sal’s Diner Subscription: TODAY ONLY- Special Valentine’s Day Discount, Half off ALL pies for couples._

Half off all pies, huh? Now that’s not a hot date, but it's interesting. And, now that he thinks of it, the mall is chock full of discounts like this for couples on Valentine's Day. The mani pedi place he frequents, that edible arrangement place, and last year he swears even the virtual reality place had a deal going on. Now _that_ could make a fun day. Or, at least, it would be if Lance was one half of a couple. He tries to think if he knows anyone who isn’t busy. All of his roommates are paired off, and Shiro’s with Adam. Which actually leaves-

Lance glances back down at his phone, weighing his options. Worst case scenario? He gets shouted at, possibly laughed at, made fun of for a few years to come. Best case? He gets half off pie from Sal’s Diner. Lance has never been good at math, but it doesn’t take a genius to see the correct course of action.

He dials Keith’s number and paces around the kitchen. It’s stupid that he’s nervous, but he is.

“Lance?” Keith’s panting, like he’s working out. Typical. “Did you mean to call me?”

“What? Of course I did. I call you all the time!” Lance argues back, because for some reason it's a lot easier to bicker with Keith.

“I think you’ve called me twice in the three years we’ve known each other.” Keith says, which is probably true. Lance hears the clink of weights being set down. Asshole. “Why are you calling now?”

“I, uh,” Lance swallows. Why is this so hard? “Are you busy today?”

“On Valentine’s Day?” Keith chuckles a little bit. “Definitely not.”

“Well, do you want to go with me to the mall today?” 

 

“The mall?” Keith repeats. “Today?”

“Yeah! There’s a bunch of discounts, today, you know for couples, like at Sal’s diner you can get half off pie, so I was just wondering if you wanted to-you know. With me.” Lance says, waving his hand for emphasis even though Keith obviously can’t see him.

“With you-Oh!” Keith says, seeming to realize what Lance is saying. “Oh. You’re asking-” He stops.

“Yeah!” Lance says brightly. “So, you want to? Sal’s got the chocolate pie I know you love.”

“I, uh, yeah. Yeah. I definitely want to. Yes.” Keith says, and Lance knew that mentioning the chocolate pie would get him to agree.

“Perfect. I can pick you up in about an hour?” Lance suggests. 

“Yes! Yeah, that sounds good.” Keith says, sounding like he’s trying to curb his enthusiasm. Lance holds back a laugh. Although he tries to hide it, Keith sure does have a sweet tooth. “I’ll see you?”

“It’s a date!” Lance says, before hanging up. God, he can’t believe that went over so well. That may have been the most pleasant conversation with Keith that he’s ever had. And now he finally has plans for Valentine’s day, which is doing wonders for his self esteem already. 

He pulls up at the apartment building Shiro and Keith share in Hunk’s car an hour later, just as promised. Okay, maybe an hour and five minutes later. But, for him, a chronically late person, that’s pretty good.

Instead of sitting in the car and texting Keith “here” ten times in a row like any normal person would, Lance decides to stretch his legs and walk up to his door. Maybe it’s that romantic Valentine’s air, maybe he just likes walking the path to Keith’s apartment. Gives him good vibes, or some shit like that. Allura would spew something about the “quintessence of the universe” if he brought it up around her.

He’s barely tapped on the door when it swings open, revealing an actually excited looking Keith. Was he waiting for him by the door? God, he sure loves pie. Lance almost laughs before he gets a good look at Keith, and his brain stops all previous functions.

Keith looks really good. Like _really_ good. Actually, that’s not what’s shocking, because Keith has looked good every day since Lance met him (one of the reasons Lance had resented him in the beginning), but what’s different is the fact that today he looks like he _tried_.

He’s wearing a black button up shirt, which, Lance didn’t even know he owned one. It might be Shiro’s. His hair is tied in a small ponytail that sits on the back of his neck, and he actually replaced his combat boots with nicer, less murdery looking shoes. Very nice.

“Woah.” Lance looks Keith up and down, a grin on his face. “You dressed up, ay chico? Tryna impress someone?” He laughs at his little joke.

“You look nice.” Keith tries for a compliment as well, going red, and it sounds so stiff that Lance has to laugh. 

“Come on, Mullet, I secured the car for the day.” Lance says, jerking his head towards the street. “We’re living in luxury.”

“Incredible.” Keith falls back into sarcasm, which is a lot more natural. They head back to the car, and if Keith’s hands bump into Lance’s a couple of times, he pretends not to notice.

“You seem tense.” Lance comments as he pulls out of the parking lot. “Is something wrong?”

“I, uh, no. No. I’m fine. Just a little...surprised. Cause you called me.” Keith says slowly. 

“I mean, it is Valentine’s Day.” Lance says, because obviously everyone else is paired off on the day literally meant for couples. He waits for Keith to make a joke about Lance not being able to find a date despite all of his big talk, but it never comes. Perhaps Keith is feeling merciful today. 

“Oh.” Keith says instead, blushing again and turning to stare out the window. It’s a little strange, but then again, Keith had always been kind of a strange dude. 

Lance turns back to the road, taking the road to Altea Mall. Finding parking is a bitch as always, but he doesn’t mind it today. Maybe it's the looming pie in the future, maybe it's the fact that Keith sings along to the radio under his breath whenever they’re in the car. Either way, they've made their way to the little diner before Lance knows it. 

“And here we are!” Lance says dramatically, holding the door open like the perfect gentleman he is.

“Hello ma'am. Table for two.” Lance says, winking at the hostess as he throws his arm around Keith. 

“Alright. Follow me.” She says, popping her gum as she grabs two menus and leads them through the diner.

“I hope we get a booth.” Lance says, arm still on Keith’s shoulders as they follow the hostess through the diner. It’s definitely busy, and Lance is positive that’s due to the many posters boasting their Valentine’s Day pie sale. Especially since most of the customers consist of couples who are very much into PDA. Lance tries not to feel too jealous. 

“Y-yeah.” Keith says. Lance kind of wonders if he’s going to be this awkward the entire time.

They are seated in a booth, thank god, and it’s only a couple of seconds before their waiter shows up at their table.

“Hey, welcome to Sal’s-” Their waiter, whose name tag says “James” stops, eyes fixating on Keith. “Hey, wait, Kogane, is that you?” He snickers, and something about his smile isn’t sitting well with Lance.

“Hi, James.” Keith says stiffly, and Lance knows that name from somewhere, but he can’t place it. He racks his brain. 

“It sure has been a while, hasn’t it?” The cold stare Keith fixes James with gives Lance chills, but James doesn’t seem to be the slightest bit concerned. “Can I start you guys out with drinks?” Keith mumbles out that he’d like water, eyes now moved to the table. Lance subconsciously scoots closer to him.

“I’ll take a water too, and we are also very interested in the Valentine’s Day half off pie special.” Lance jabs his thumb over his shoulder at the sign at the entrance that boasts the holiday deal and smiles sweetly. “Chocolate Lover’s Supreme, please.” 

“Oh, sorry, actually that discount is only for couples.” James says in a slightly patronizing tone, and suddenly, Lance remembers where he’s heard that name before.

Just over two years ago, freshman year. Lance and Keith were finally getting past the “every conversation is an argument” stage, and Keith had stormed into Lance’s dorm, angry. Lance, at first, had thought that Keith was about to punch him, but instead Keith flopped onto Lance’s cot bed and started pummeling a pillow, and it became clear he actually wasn’t the catalyst of Keith’s rage, for once. 

“What's uh-is something the matter, Keith?” Lance asked from his desk. 

“Fucking-James-Griffin-” Keith chucked the pillow at the wall, sitting up now. 

Lance wasn’t quite sure what do there.

“Sorry.” Keith seemed to remember himself, shaking his head and covering his face in his hands. “I didn't want to go back home-Shiro would want to get involved and--” Lance stood up, sitting down next Keith on his bed. 

“Okay, buddy, mind telling me what James Griffin did?” Lance asked. Hunk wouldn’t be home for a couple of hours, so this was all on Lance to help. “And also who he is?”

“He’s in my scholarship program, and he just--” Keith gestured wordlessly in the air. “Like, remember when you were little, and you were just figuring out that you weren’t quite _like_ everyone else, and then some kids found out and then they-” Keith clenches his fists again. 

“Oh, god. Did he say something? Do I need to beat him up?” Lance had asked. Keith chuckles without any humor. 

“He just. Made some comments. Not at me, directly. About some kid he knew that apparently hit on him. I didn't tell him I was gay, I feel like a coward now. I should've said something.” God, Lance knew that feeling. 

“You’re not a coward, but you should really report him, y’know? That kind of shit shouldn't fly.”

“I, maybe. I will tomorrow.” Keith said, eyes closed. He looked so tired, and Lance suddenly felt bad for all the times he’s talked shit about him.

“I’ll go with you.” Lance offered, kind of like an olive branch. Lance had, admittedly, been kind of been a dick to him before. He couldn’t help it, something about Keith just made it so easy to push his buttons.

“Really?” Keith opened his eyes and glared suspiciously at Lance, like Lance was trying to trick him or something. Rude.

“Yeah dude. No asshole is going to hurt my friend.” And Lance thought it might be the first time he’d referred to Keith as his friend. Before that it was generally like “my fiercest rival” or “the wannabe Sasuke that hangs out with us and steals my fries.” 

“Oh, we're friends now?” Keith raised an eyebrow, like he was reading Lance’s thoughts. He did that sometimes, and it was unnerving.

“You did storm into my dorm completely unannounced and threw a temper tantrum.” Lance reasoned. 

“I was looking for Hunk.” Keith said, but he smirked.

“Oh shut up.” Lance shoved him playfully. “I can’t believe you’re replacing me as your rival with this Jimmy Griff character.” Lance went for the joke, making him laugh again. Maybe that was his super power. 

“He’s not my rival. He’s just an asshole.” Keith slumped backwards until he was lying on the bed, and Lance could not explain why that was so comforting to him. It just was.

“Why is this so comfortable for a dorm bed?” Keith asked, fingers pushing against the mattress curiously. 

“Foam mattress pad. Had to work overtime for three weeks to get that baby, but _definitely_ worth it. I need my beauty sleep.”

Then Keith had laughed again, the rest of the anger melting off his face, and all was right with the world for that moment. 

Now, over two years later, in a diner booth waiting for discount pie, he can see the same hurt and anger flash across Keith’s face again. And suddenly Lance has an idea. A stupid one, but it’s an idea.

He sweeps his right arm around Keith’s shoulders, grabs his jaw, and looks right into his eyes, asking a silent question that Keith seems to understand. He jerks his head in an almost imperceptible nod, and then Lance closes the gap.

And, just like that, Lance is kissing Keith. Was this one of his smarter ideas? Probably not. But it should do the trick, because if this kiss looks half as real as it feels, James is going to be freaked. Keith is actually a good kisser. Or at least good at acting. That almost annoys Lance, because is there anything he’s not good at? Lance pulls away only a couple seconds later, eyes meeting a very shell shocked looking Keith. He smoothly turns back to James, who looks a little bit terrified.

“Actually, my boyfriend and I,” Lance puts extra emphasis on the word boyfriend. “Who are super in love and very much a couple, think we do qualify for the Valentine’s Day discount. We’d like a Chocolate Lovers Supreme Pie, biggest one you’ve got.”

James just nods stiffly, lips one flat line, then turns and makes a beeline towards the kitchen. It’s then that Lance realizes Keith still hasn’t said anything.

Lance slides his arm off of Keith, scooting away to give him a few inches of space.

“Sorry, dude, I know that was sudden. And weird, but like, that guy’s a dick. And I think we both want that pie. So it seems like it’s worth it to pretend to be a couple, you know? No weirdness, just to get the discounts. And stick it to some assholes.” Keith’s eyebrows furrow, like he’s a little confused.

“Pretend to be-” Keith freezes, eyes widening. “Oh my god.” A million emotions flash across Keith’s face in a second before settling on what can only be described as horror, which, frankly, is a little insulting. Is the idea of even fake dating Lance that awful?

“Hey, Keith. Is that a no?” Lance asks, slightly nervous now. He’s done a lot of stupid things, and a lot of stupid things to Keith in particular, but it would really suck if a kiss ruined their friendship. Especially since, if Lance was being honest, it was actually a pretty stellar friendship they had going. And a pretty stellar kiss, too.

“No! No, that’s, uh-” Keith swallows before steeling himself, face dropping back into that poker face he’s basically famous for. “Yeah, we can _pretend_ to be a couple. That's, uh, definitely cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool.” He says really fast in the way Lance does sometimes, before he shoots a stiff grin at him, and just like that they’re cool again.

“Awesome.” Lance says, and then James is back, setting down their waters and curtly telling them their pie would be out in just a few minutes. 

When it arrives, the pie is heavenly, and it tastes even better knowing it’s half off.

“Hey, we could go to that nail salon. They got $14 dollar manicures for couples. You know. Cause it’s the 14th.” Lance suggests once they’ve polished off the pie at a slightly alarming rate. 

“Very clever.” Keith says, a resounding “Let’s do it!” in Keith speak. He’s got a bit of chocolate clinging to his lower lip. And, since at that moment James brings the check to their table, Lance dives forward and kisses it away, stunning both Keith and James into silence again.

“You had something on your mouth, babe.” Lance pays and soon they head back out into the mall, which feels starkly colder away from the little bubble of warmth they had built up in the diner booth. 

Keith goes quiet again, which isn’t totally unusual when he socializes, so Lance kind of just talks at him. He might be speaking more to try and override the inevitable awkwardness of the day’s events, leading Keith to one of his most favorite mall spots.

“Lance!” Min, the nail lady says the second Lance steps into the shop. “It’s been awhile! Come in. Are you here for the Saint Valentine’s discount? You know it’s couples only, right?” Then she laughs, a perfect example of her rapid fire way of speaking. “Did you bring the other half of a couple?”

“Oh, I indeed did.” Lance grabs Keith’s hand from where it’s clenched at his sides, dragging him into the metaphorical spotlight. “This tall glass of water got suckered into being my boyfriend.” Lance grins.

“No way, this handsome lad right here?” She teases right back. That’s one of the things Lance loves about Min, she’s really good at ribs. “Impossible.”

“Can you believe? He even has a name.” And Lance is having fun with it now. He’s putting on a show, a big production, with an audience of the five sweet nail artists and the two sets of couples getting their nails done.

“Oh, and what is it, hun?” Min addresses Keith now, grinning widely.

“Keith.” Keith supplies for himself, biting the inside of his cheek in a way that Lance has learned is to keep back a smile. Min can charm anybody.

“Keith. Beautiful name for a beautiful boy. Shall I get you two started?” Min prompts.

“Ah, yes. The $14 manicure for me and my main squeeze.” Lance says, throwing his arm Keith and squeezing him tightly to his side.

“Your _only_ squeeze, asshole.”

“He’s so affectionate.” Lance grins, and Min laughs at the two of them, hands on her hips and eyes shining. 

The rest of the visit follows in much the same vein, with Lance flirting too loud and Keith meeting him with sarcastic remarks. It’s fun, actually. Like, better than a lot of real dates that Lance has had. 

At least it is, until they’re two coats deep in their french tips, and the quiet ringing of the bell alerts them of another customer entering. Lance doesn’t even look up, until he hears a voice that’s far too familiar and definitely far too happy. Fuck.

“Lance? Is that you?” The cheery voice nearly activates Lance’s flight or fight response, which is stupid because it’s not like Lance doesn’t see her every time they have biology.

“Nyma!” Lance adopts a fake excited voice as the girl in question comes around to his field of vision. Well, the girl and the new boyfriend she’s currently holding hands with. Ouch. “Crazy to run into you here, on all the days!”

“Yeah! We’re here for the manicure sale too. Had to drag him here, isn't that right sweetie?” She playfully boops Rolo on the nose, and oh, if that isn't just a dagger in Lance’s heart. 

“Wow. I am so happy for you.” Lance grits his teeth and wraps his foot around Keith’s ankle, just for a little bit of grounding. He would grab Keith’s hand, but his are currently occupied. 

“Yeah! And..you and Keith?” Nyma grins too, and Lance wants to believe there’s a little heartbreak there too. Maybe he’s imagining it. Or projecting.

“Ah, yes! Keith and me. It’s very new, but between you and me, I think this one’s going to stick.” Lance says, and it’s too much but definitely worth it to see the way Nyma flinches. Ha!

“Yep.” Keith says, eyes fixed on his hands, ever the romantic. His jaw has a tenseness to it Lance is, like, 80% sure wasn’t there before. 

“He’s shy.” Lance soaks that with as much fondness as he can muster, dropping his head on Keith’s shoulder. 

“So sweet.” Nyma coos. She looks gorgeous, obviously, and lit up in happiness. Part of Lance wishes he could just hate her, but that’s almost impossible. Sure, she’s a little bit of a fuck up, kind of like him, who made some stupid, stupid mistakes-but that’s what they were. Mistakes.

Mistakes that inevitably led her to dump his ass on Christmas morning, over voicemail. Yep, still hurt.

“I think you two are just about finished.” Min says, grinning as she squeezes Lance’s hands and lets them go. “You’ll have to come back soon and tell me more Cuba stories.”

“Of course.” Lance flashes a smile, one that’s only partially forced. “Come on, lover.” Keith rolls his eyes. “Nyma.” Lance smiles at the far too beautiful girl getting flowers painted on her nails. She smiles up at him.

“It was a pleasure, Lance. You should hit me up soon, we need to catch up.” She says, sweet like honey. Lance grabs Keith’s hand instinctively, and is grateful when he gets a reassuring squeeze. Keith definitely had to deal with more late nights of Lance lamenting over lost love than any person should (even Hunk and Allura had their limits), but he’s proved to be oddly proficient in the art of comforting post heartbreak.

And if Keith thinks it's pathetic when Lance kisses him obnoxiously right in Nyma’s line of vision, well, at least he’s merciful enough not to mention it.

After that unfortunate incident, they decide heading home is probably the best course of action. The drive is quiet, and Keith doesn’t even sing along when Lance changes the channel to the Alt station, which is usually a red flag. They pull up in front of Keith’s apartment, and Lance puts the car in par, ready to possible do some damage control.

“Well, thank you Keith. I had a good day. You make a wonderful fake boyfriend.” Lance says, one arm on the back of Keith’s seat. Keith seems to be having a staring contest with the dashboard, refusing to look Lance in the eye.

“Yup. Good pie” Keith just says, ever a man of few words.

“True that.” Lance says, and again he has that string of anxiety run through him. “I didn’t-this didn’t make anything weird between us, right?”

“What? No. Why would things be weird?” Keith forces a laugh, still not meeting Lance’s eyes, instead focusing somewhere in the vicinity of his ear. 

“So, we’re cool.” Lance says, but it’s almost more of a question.

“Totally cool.” And Keith finally meets Lance’s eyes, and while he isn’t happy per se, he doesn’t look disgusted or terrified anymore, so that’s an improvement. With Keith, it’s kind of a take what you can get sort of situation.

“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Keith returns his goodbyes before sliding out of the car and heading back to his apartment. “Let me know if you need another fake date!” Lance calls after him. Keith gives a middle finger in return, but Lance has long since learned to take that as a sign of endearment.

Lance pulled away, blissfully unaware, at least for a little while, at how quickly all of this was about to blow up in his face.

**

The Sunday after Valentine’s day, Lance is the first one awake, in a good mood at that, so he deems it his duty to treat everyone in his apartment with Starbucks.

“So, you certainly hopped into the dating scene quicker than expected.” Nyma says, making Lance jump and nearly drop his four drinks. She’s leaning against the wall of the Starbucks with one foot propped up behind her, sipping an iced coffee casually like she didn’t just practically ambush hi outside a coffee shop.

“You started seeing Rolo _while_ we were dating.” Lance retorts, happy that he had a comeback ready to go, but still feeling that familiar stewing in his chest. Something sitting neatly between anger and self loathing. “From what I recall.”

“Technically, I had already left the message. Anyway, I just definitely remember you drunk calling me and saying how you’d never love anyone again.” Nyma says, smirking, which is definitely a low blow, no matter how accurate. Lance has never been great at holding his tequila.

“That’s-”

“Relax, Lance. I’m teasing. I’m happy for you.” She says, laughing and standing up straight. She puts a hand on his shoulder. Keith seems like a good match. Definitely less of a ticking time bomb.” She chuckles in a self deprecating way. “But, it’s relatively new, isn’t it? Nobody had heard about it before.” 

“Oh. You told people?” Well, that wasn’t a great sign.

“Not purposely.” Nyma said. “I assumed people already knew.” She smiles again, before saying something about needing to meet up with someone to study and leaving Lance to begin a panicky walk back to his apartment.

Because of Lance’s stupid “quick thinking”, Nyma now thinks him and Keith are dating, which is definitely not true. And Nyma has never been known for keeping her mouth shut, mostly because she hangs out with Allura, a terrible influence who probably could ruin a lot of lives if she decided to use her natural nosiness and gossiping prowess for evil.

Oh fuck. If Allura was awake, then she’d definitely find out about the events of yesterday, and not the truth, and-

As if summoned by his panicky string of thoughts, his phone rings.

“LANCE MATEO MCCLAIN SERRANO.” Allura’s voice echoes loudly through his cell phone, causing a woman walking her tiny dog to shoot him a look of judgement. “WHEN DID YOU PLAN ON TELLING ME ABOUT KEITH? EVER?”

“Allura, you don’t understand-” Lance tried to quickly pay damage control. 

“I cannot believe you would lie to me like that! You better get your ass back home right now or I swear to gOD-”

“No-”

“Rom, Hunk, and Pidge are all furious with you too!”

“They know?” 

“Everyone knows! Nyma texted me to say that you two were _kissing_ at the mall yesterday-”

“What do you mean everyone?” Lance interrupts, cause this whole thing kind of feels like it’s a wild fire in progress.

“Well, obviously word’s going to spread!” Allura huffs at him, like he’s stupid. Which he definitely is. “Keith has been the campus’ most eligible bachelor since he first road his motorcycle to English 101 Freshman Year. Now, you better be five seconds away from being home or I swear to god-”

“I am! I’m coming home! I’m just-” Lance glances up, where Keith’s apartment building stands. Oh, it’s definitely time to make the second radical decision of the weekend. “Stopping at Keith’s right now.”

“Bring him too! Oh, you two are going to get an earful when you get home!” And then she hangs up, leaving Lance staring up at the building. He takes a deep breath, sliding his phone in his back pocket, before he walks up to the front door and knocks.

“Please be home, please be home.” Lance prays to any god that might be listening, hopefully one who commonly takes pity on handsome dumbasses who make stupid decisions.

Thank god, it’s Keith who opens the door. 

“Lance?” Keith asks, looking like he just got up for the day. His hair is pushed up on the side, and Lance would make a comment on it if he didn’t really need to be on Keith’s good side right now. 

“I’ve got to talk to you.” Lance says, quickly. 

“Me too.” Keith says, and Lance knows he needs to get it out and fast, like he’s ripping off a bandaid. 

“We need to keep fake dating.” Lance and Keith say at the same time, eyes widening.

“Wait, really?” Lance asks, because he had been prepared to beg and grovel at Keith’s feet like a common peasant. He’d even practiced his begging face in the mirror specifically for occasions like this. Keith sighs, looking a little bit humbled, which, honestly, is a nice color on him.

“Yes. Shiro thinks we’re dating, and he’s way too happy that I’ve finally settled down, and he’s definitely going to force me back into therapy if he finds out it was a fluke, or worse, try to set me up with some of his professors’ sons again. I just, I need to get him off my back for awhile.” Keith says.

“Yikes.” Lance says. “How did he find out?” 

“He, uh, Nyma must’ve told a bunch of people and it got back to him. He knew when I got back home.” Yikes, Allura was right about word of mouth spreading fast. “Why do you want to keep fake dating?”

“Uh, a few reasons. Allura found out, which basically means the rest of the school is about ten seconds away from finding out, and that would be an obnoxious mess to clean up. Also..” Lance trails off, feeling a little bit stupid for his second, arguably more prominent reason for wanting to keep up this charade.

“What.” Keith asks, voice flat in a way that suggests he already knows the reason. 

“Nyma.” Lance admits, feeling a little bit ashamed. He had spent several weeks verbally moping about the loss of that relationship, and he’s sure it’s still very fresh in Keith’s mind. “She’s got a new boyfriend, and now she’s flaunting it in my face, and I don’t want her to think I still care so much about her opinion that I faked having a boyfriend so she wouldn’t think I was a loser-”

“Even though you do and you are.” Keith says flatly. 

“Hey! It doesn’t matter, you want the same thing, right?” Lance says, grabbing Keith’s shoulder desperately with the hand not clutching the four coffees. “What do you say? We keep this up for a couple of weeks, a month or two tops?” 

“I-yeah. Yeah. We can do this.” Keith seems to be trying to convince himself. 

“Awesome! Dream team!” Lance holds out his hand for a high five. Keith ignores it. “Okay, fair. But we need to get to my apartment right now, because Allura is mad I kept everything from her and may flay us alive.” 

“What?”

“Let’s go!”

“Didn’t even get me a coffee-” Keith mumbles bitterly but allows himself to be dragged along.

They’ve barely crossed the doorway before Hunk appears, brandishing a spatula wildly, a sign that he’s been angry baking. Which, at least, meant they’d get some good cookies after getting a probably well deserved earful.

“I can’t BELIEVE we had to find out about you two from NYMA of ALL people.” Hunk huffs dramatically at them, which tells Lance that he and Allura have been a terrible influence on him. “Lance, I thought I was your best friend!”

“I- uh.” Lance doesn’t really have an answer to that.

“My fault, Hunk.” Keith jumps in. “I, uh, didn’t want to tell anyone yet. Nyma just spotted us at the mall and kinda asked a lot of questions.” Hunk narrows his eyes, hands on his hips as he shoots lightning glares at them. Then, just when Lance accepts that he's about to die, because Hunk’s scary when he’s angry, his face brightens, and he pulls both of them into a hug. 

“Oh, I can’t even stay mad, because I’m so happy for you!” Hunk says, squeezing hard enough to make both of them gasp. Lance barely manages to keep ahold of the drinks.

“Uh, thank you Hunk.” Keith says, in that awkward “I don’t know how to interact with people about feelings” voice that makes Lance laugh. 

“So you two really are a thing now, huh?” Pidge says from her place cross legged on the couch.

“Yesiree!” Lance says, which feels a poor moment to decide to use that word for the first time in his life.

“I don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on your relationship by saying how well you guys go together, so, uh, boo. Hiss. I do not support.” Pidge says, biting away her smile as she focuses her attention back on the computer screen.

“Aw, thank you pidgeon.” Lance says, ruffling her hair in the way she pretends to hate, then handing her her coffee. “I appreciate you looking out for the biting realism of life and love.”

“Anytime.” Pidge says, taking a sip. “Plus if people as stupid as you two can actually get your heads out of your asses, that’s really a beacon of shining hope for the rest of us.” 

“Wow, rude-”

“You!” And the door to Allura and Romelle’s room bursts open, revealing a tall, angry woman. Lance fears for his life. “Lance, we had an entire conversation last night over ice cream, and you just failed to mention that you and Keith had started _dating_?”

“‘Lura!” Lance says, plastering on a grin. “We got you guys coffee!” Keith looks like he’s about to melt into the shadows, so Lance grabs his sleeve and pulls him forward to share the limelight. “From both of us. As an apology for not telling you right away.” Allura glares at the two of them, arms crossed.

“Oh, I so wish I could stay mad at you.” Allura says, snatching her and Romelle’s frappes, and Lance has never been more grateful for his stroke of goodwill this morning. “You guys need to tell us everything! How long has it been happening?”

“Yeah, tell us everything!” Hunk chimes in. Pidge doesn’t look up from her computer, but Lance can tell that she’s listening just as intently.

“Oh, just since Valentine’s day.” Lance laughs. “So, like, a day.”

“Wow.” Allura says, beaming, before turning to Keith. “Keith, I am so proud of you for _finally_ doing something about-”

“I just remembered!” Keith chimes in, loudly. “Shiro wants to get brunch with us, Lance! We’d better get going.”

“Wait, now?” Lance says. “It’s barely eleven-”

“Yup! Now. We’d better get going. We’ll talk to you guys later.” Keith grabs Lance’s hand, quite forcefully and dragging him out the door, slightly shocked goodbyes from the rest following them outside.

**

They stop at a bench halfway between Lance’s and Keith’s apartments. Keith sits down, looking totally serious.

“What’s up, dude?” Lance says, realizing that the Shiro excuse was probably just that-an excuse- and sitting down next to him.

“If we’re going to do this fake dating thing,” Keith starts.

“I think we’re a little too deep for anything else.” Lance says, but Keith keeps going like he didn’t hear anything.

“-then we need ground rules.” Keith says, sounding so serious Lance almost has to laugh.

“Rules? Really? Mr. Impulsive over here wants to plan ahead? Wouldn’t it be better to just like, you know, wing it?” That’s usually how Lance likes to deal with relationships. “I’m very talented at improvising in the romance area.” He throws a wink at Keith, whose face remains steely.

“I don’t want you tongue kissing me again.” Keith says flatly, ignoring Lance’s charms, and Lance has to ignore the hurt that briefly shoots through his chest.

“What?” Lance asks. “Nobody’s going to believe we’re actually together if we don’t kiss for real. You saw me with Nyma, I am a strong believer in PDA.” They’d gotten kicked out of many corridors for that exact reason when they were dating.

“So I noticed.” Keith narrows his eyes, and Lance can’t help but feel like he’s done something wrong. “But I’m not like you, I’m not good with just throwing around--” He glances up at the sky, like he’s looking for the word that won’t insult Lance written up in the clouds. It’s definitely too late for that. “--my affection. Like that.” He decides on, lamely.

“What am I supposed to say if Hunk asks why I never make out with my boyfriend? Hunk’s so nosy.” Lance complains, and it’s true. Hunk is definitely the nosiest person in their group, followed closely by Allura, who at least has the decency to draw the line at reading people’s diaries.

“Just tell him I’m shy, and prefer to remain physically affectionate in the privacy of my bedroom. Let their imaginations run wild. You can still kiss me, and like my cheek and stuff.” Keith delivers that with such a deadpan tone that Lance has to laugh again. Keith ignores him, which is fair. “What rules do you want?”

“What rules do I want?” Oh there’s so many ways that Lance could mess with Keith. “Hm. You’ve got to at least hold my hand when we’re in chemistry. On top of the desk. Nyma’s in there.” Keith rolls his eyes. 

“I know Nyma’s in there, you stare forlornly at the back of her head the entire class.” Keith’s words come out clipped, and again Lance has that feeling he’s done something wrong, but he can’t pinpoint what. “My turn: you can’t flirt with other people as long as we’re pretending we’re dating.” 

“Wh- _obviously_ I’m not going to do that!” Lance sputters, offended that Keith would even insinuate that. “I don’t flirt with other people when I’m dating someone!”

“We are not dating.” Keith reminds him, which for some reason feels like a slap in the face. “My rule still stands. Your turn.”

“You have to let me call you embarrassing pet names.” Lance says triumphantly, crossing his arms. He half expects Keith to flat out refuse the request, but instead Keith tilts his head to the side, considering it.

“You can pick one. And I have to approve of it.” Keith decides, and Lance clutches his chest in mock agony.

“You’re making me pick only one? Babe, how can I choose?” He flops onto Keith’s shoulder dramatically. 

“Not babe. That’s stupid.” Keith shoots back immediately, shoving Lance off of him.

“Fine. How about sweetheart? Or honey?” Lance offers. Keith rolls his eyes, shaking his head no for each of them. “What? Why not?”

“They’re too-” Keith waves his hand in the air. “-mushy. Pick something not as cheesy.”

“So picky.” Lance stand up to pace around the park bench, tapping his finger on his chin. “Let’s see, sweetie pie-”

“Am I a six year old girl?”

“Pudding-”

“We’re not roleplaying as Harley Quinn and the Joker. Gross.”

“Muffin-”

“You’re just naming foods!”

“Sweet cheeks?” He’s just teasing at this point, watching as Keith’s nose scrunches up and his cheeks turn pink.

“Lance.” He hisses, and Lance laughs again.

“Alright fine, how do you feel about something in Spanish?” Lance plops back down on the bench, propping his arms up on the back. Keith moves, brushing his hair against Lance’s arm.

“Depends on what it means.” Keith says, turning to face Lance more fully.

“I don’t think it matters, cariño.” Lance says, purposely rolling the r longer than he’s supposed to.

“What does that mean?” Keith asks anyway, like Lance knew he would, turning more red now. “Cadin-carino?” He stumbles over the pronunciation, which is kind of hilarious. He sounds like the extremely british Allura.

“I think it’s funner if we leave that a mystery, don’t you?” Lance teases, and because he’s a little shit, he tacks on at the end, “Cariño?” punctuated with a wink.

“You know I could just look it up.” Keith threatens, which basically means it gets his stamp of approval.

“Fun ruiner.” Lance says, and Keith rolls his eyes. “Okay, my rule. We have to have a sleepover at least once a week.”

“What?” Keith sputters. “Why?”

“Because I have a reputation in my home based on my previous lovers, and people are going to ask questions if certain expectations aren’t met.” Lance says, cause he doesn't need Keith’s judgement right now. Keith is still very red, turning away and attempting to hide his face behind his obnoxious hair. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fun, like a slumber party in middle school. I can braid your hair, and we can talk about boys and watch scary movies and lie to our parents about the rating.” Lance adds in a teasing voice, flicking Keith’s stupid hair out of his eyes.

“Fine. Sleepovers once a week.” Keith agrees, and Lance grins, before another genius idea hits him. He’s on a roll today.

“Wait! I thought of another one.” 

“Christ.” Keith says, but he’s smiling. Ha! Lance is endearing, even to soulless people like Keith.

“I can wear your jacket. Like as a boyfriend thing. Boyfriend jacket.” Lance says, gesturing at Keith.

“This one?” Keith lifts his arms, showing off the stupid leather jacket that Lance may or may not have wanted to try on for months now. He just thinks it’ll make him look cool. 

“Yeah! You can wear mine.” Lance doesn’t have it on him right now, considering they’re in Arizona, and it’s already like 80 degrees, and Keith is either crazy or a masochist for wearing his.

“I don’t want your hoodie.” Keith says, which, _rude_ , it’s a great hoodie. Old, oversized, and full of wisdom. 

“Come on, pleeease.” Lance sticks out his lower lip, giving Keith his best puppy dog face. He doesn’t quite have the big sad eyes shtick down as well as Keith yet, but he thinks the rest of his assets more than get the job done.

“Fine.” Keith shifts forward, shrugging his jacket off his shoulders and handing it to Lance without any proper ceremony. Lance enthusiastically slips it on, taking a moment to hug himself in it. It smells like citrus.

“Wow, I feel badass. Do I look badass?” It’s amazing what leather can do to your self image. Keith drags his eyes up and down Lance’s torso, slowly, and Lance feels the strange desire to sit up straighter. 

“Have you ever looked badass in your life?” Keith asks finally, eyes alight with that playful fire. 

“Wow. Rude. I look cool.” Lance says, shoving him without any real malice. “Okay, any other rules?” 

“Uh. Well, I guess this goes without saying, but don’t tell anyone that we aren’t really dating. Even after it’s over. We’ll just say it fizzled, and we decided we’re better off as friends.” Keith says, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. “No big deal.” 

“Tragic.” Lance says, fingers tapping on the edge of the bench. “But definitely less embarrassing than admitting we faked it.” Keith makes a noncommittal noise of agreement. 

“Any more rules?” Keith asks, looking concerned. “Anything you want me to not do?” Lance smirks, leaning forward and tracing his finger on Keith’s jaw.

“Just don’t fall in love with me, cariño.” He exhales softly, and then he’s twisting away before Keith even has a chance to respond, standing up off the bench and stretching out his limbs, a self satisfied smirk on his face. 

“That won’t be a problem.” Keith scowls, which makes Lance laugh out loud. He’s too easy to rile up.

“Are we done now?”

“Yeah.” Keith says. “I wasn’t making that up before, also. Shiro really wants to have lunch with us.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yep. Something about ‘wanting to get to know you’ which doesn’t make any sense since he’s known you for years and you share way too much about your personal life.”

“It’s the first boyfriend test!” Lance says, a little bit too excited. “I’m gonna get the big brother screening!”

“Hush.” Keith covers Lance’s mouth with his hand. “Put on your game face. Shiro’s… insufferable.” Keith looks like he’s having war flashbacks of Shiro’s previous interrogations. “There’s a reason he’s getting a psych doctorate.” Lance grabs Keith's hand from his face, seamlessly intertwining their fingers. 

“Oh, don't worry, cariño.” He practically purrs, and yeah he's laying it on thick, but it's just so fun to mess with Keith. Especially when Keith turns that ridiculous shade of red and glares at the ground like it personally offended him. “I always bring my A game.”

“I hate you.” Keith yanks his hand away. “Come on, he’s meeting us at Balmera.”

**

“So.” Shiro leans over the salad he ordered since he’s a weird health nut, chin settled on folded hands. His eyes laser focus on Lance. “We know this started on Valentine’s Day, and I know Keith’s side, obviously-” Keith chokes on his water, and Lance grins at him before patting his back gently. “-but how did things unfold at your end?” God, Keith was not lying when he said Shiro would act like a detective in the interrogation room.

“Uh, well, I don’t know.” Lance starts, because he hadn’t thought out the details before. Better keep it simple. “I guess I’ve always been into Keith, you know? And last week I kind of thought, fuck it, life’s too short to not take chances, and called him up. On Valentine’s Day no less.” He grins sheepishly. 

“Bold move.” Shiro comments, a grin on his face. He’s a total romantic. 

“Yeah. And I guess he had a momentary lapse of judgement or something, because he said yes.” Lance smiles at Keith, gently knocking the backs of their hands together. 

“Best lapse of judgement I’ve ever had.” Keith says, so softly Lance kind of wonders if Shiro can hear him. But damn, that’s smooth. Then Keith smiles softly at him, a dopey grin that is probably definitely fooling Shiro. 

“And we officially became boyfriends later that night. Anything you want to add, cariño?” Lance asks, tracing the back of Keith’s hand with his index finger.

“Nope. I think you’ve got it.” Keith says, rushed.

“At the risk of being embarrassing, may I just say-” Shiro starts, a fond smile of his own gracing his face.

“No you may not.” Keith interrupts, but Shiro just ignores him and plunders on.

“-I’m really happy for you two. I think that you two balance each other out well, and looking back, I should’ve seen this coming. It kind of works, you know?” He finishes, gesturing to the two of them.

“Oh, thanks.” Is all Lance says, because what does Shiro mean, he should’ve seen this coming? There’s nothing here to see coming. Lance doesn’t ask, not sure he wants to hear the answer to that question. 

“You actually remind me a lot of Adam and me, at the beginning.” Shiro says, and yep, that’s the answer Lance didn’t want to hear. He plays it off anyway.

“I don’t know about that. I think we’re a lot cuter.” And he kisses Keith’s cheek, because what the hell, they’re in the honeymoon stage, supposedly. Keith shoves him away, blushing, and everything feels right, for a moment.

They finish eating dinner, and Keith practically power walks out of the restaurant, eager to put as much difference between him and his probing brother as possible. 

“Lance, can you hold up a second?” Shiro asks, so Lance freezes in his tracks, stopping just before he leaves the booth.

“Sup, Shiro?” He asks, fiddling with the zipper on Keith’s jacket. He wonders if Shiro definitely saw right through them, and is about to call him out for trying to play him. Hopefully not.

“This is where I’d normally give the big brother talk. You know, and explain exactly what would happen to you if you hurt my little bro.” Shiro says, hand tightly clasped to Lance’s shoulder. Lance swallows nervously. Although this was definitely a different direction, it did not feel any less intimidating. Lance made a mental note to never let Shiro find out this was basically an over glorified prank. 

“Oh?” He manages to squeak out. Shiro narrows his eyes, and Lance briefly wonders if Shiro is going to toss him into the street.

“But,” Shiro says, his voice still stern, but then the intimidating, Bad Cop interrogation expression melts off his face. Instead, he smiles and his tone completely changes. “I think I know you well enough, and I trust you.”

“Wh-really?” Talk about whiplash. Like, three times over.

“You’d never do anything to intentionally hurt anyone, especially Keith.” Shiro says confidently, and the pool of guilt stirs in Lance’s stomach. “You have my blessing.”

“Oh, wow. Shiro, that’s, thank you-” Lance isn’t really sure how to react, as he usually does not get blessings from family members of people he dates. Normally either passive aggressive glares or outright declarations of disapproval. Luckily, Shiro decides to cut him some slack and let him off from forming an actual response.

“Go get him. He’s probably pouting on the sidewalk right now.” Shiro says, letting go of Lance’s shoulder and gesturing to the outside of the restaurant. Lance nods rapidly, before sliding out of the booth and practically running over to where Keith is, definitely pouting like Shiro said.

“What took you so long?” Keith asks by way of greeting.

“I have Shiro’s blessing.” Lance says without preamble, grinning in spite of himself.

“Hilarious.” Keith says, arms crossed. “Can I have my jacket back?”

“Tsk tsk. You clearly don’t have much experience being a boyfriend, cause you’re not going to be getting this back.” Lance teases, which only makes Keith scowl. 

“Obviously I don't know how to be a boyfriend. I’ve never dated anyone before.”

“Wait, what? No. What about all those dicks freshman year-”

“Hookups. Never dating. I'm not- I'm not good at the serious, emotional stuff. Why do you think Shiro tries so hard to set me up with people?”

“Ah. I see. If he thinks you have an actual relationship, he’ll get off your back. And you can go back to the hookup life. Flying solo. Bedding a different stud every night.”

“Something like that.” Keith says. 

“Well, Shiro’s probably watching from the window right now, so…” Lance trails off, lifting his arms slightly expectantly. He half expects Keith to make a snarky remark and shove him away, but instead Keith surprises him. He steps forward into Lance’s arms, snaking his hands behind Lance’s neck and placing his lips right on top of Lance’s.

It shouldn’t surprise Lance, they did agree on kisses as long as there was no tongue only an hour ago, but for some reason Lance thought he’d have to initiate them all.

“There, dumbass. Let’s go back to your apartment. I need to ask Hunk about a physics problem.”

**

Really, it’s a miracle they’ve gone three days before the shit actually starts to hit the fan.

For some reason, the idea that his mother would somehow find out never crossed his mind even once. Maybe he’s just a terrible son. Either way, he was not expected his weekly call home to begin so _angrily_.

“Leandro Mateo Serrano!” Lance’s mom’s voice blares through the phone speakers. “Did I really have to get a phone call from Hunk to find out you were dating Keith?”

“Oh, mama.” Lance says, immediately standing up and walking out of the room, ready to explain the entire situation before this gets even more out of hand. “It’s actually-wait, Hunk told you? When?”

“Don’t think I’m not mad at you- I am- but you and Keith are just so cute together.” Mama keeps talking, clearly far too excited to listen. “The whole family agrees, and he was so sweet when we visited your apartment. Wonderfully kind boy. You chose well, mijo.”

“Th-thanks.” Great. His whole family. How could he--?

“And I do expect to hear more about you two. It isn’t every day you fall in love with one of your best friends!”

“Oh, I don’t know if we’re in _love_ -”

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you, mijo. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about.” She says, and sounds so sincere that Lance’s protests die in his throat. Lying to his family feels awful, but he has the feeling that it’ll hurt just as much if he tells them the truth right now. “Plus, Hunk told me all about how painful it’s been to watch you two dance around each other.”

“Thanks, ma.” He says, because he doesn’t really know what else to say. “How’s everything back at home?” 

“Going great! Sylvio and Nadia cannot wait until summer break when they can see you again.” Then she gasps, like she just had an idea. “Ooh! You should bring Keith when you come!”

“To Cuba?” Lance freezes. 

“Yes. At least for a couple weeks. We would love to get to know him more!”

“Ha. I’ll have to ask him. Later. Now’s a little bit too soon, you know?” 

“Ah, do what you must, but I know this one is going to last. Call it mother’s intuition.”

“Okay, mom.” Lance says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I can ask him. I would love to bring him home.”

And just like that, the lie grows.

**

Lance and Keith walk into their Chemistry lecture just like any other day. 

Except, unlike any normal day, they’re holding hands. Keith intertwines their fingers together, before setting them right on top of the desk. Then he nuzzles his nose into Lance’s temple, and Christ, when did Keith get so good at being a fake boyfriend?

“Stop staring at Nyma, or she’s going to see right through you.” Keith hisses into his ear. Oh, right. 

“I only got eyes for you, cariño.” Lance says back instead. But he does glance at Nyma again, and sees her look away from him and Keith quickly, like she didn’t want to be caught staring. Ha. Who’s the pathetic one now?

“Lance.” Keith hisses, a reminder that yep, Lance is still pathetic. He buries his head in Keith’s shoulder and groans dramatically until the professor dims the lights, indicating the lecture is about to begin.

**

And so it goes.

They just keep up the couple act whenever they’re around anyone they know. Which is basically most of the time they’re on campus. Or at home. Or at work. Or around town. Lance knows a lot of people, okay? 

Lance had expected it to kind of suck, especially since he definitely cannot score dates if he has a fake boyfriend. But, honestly? It’s fine. More than fine. Lance actually doesn’t feel like he’s missing out on anything. Keith is, and Lance knew this on some level already, actually super cool. And fun. Like, why had Lance been spending so much time complaining about him and his hair? Fake dating kind of felt like it opened up a whole new layer of their friendship, one that Lance definitely enjoyed. 

Alas, not all is daisies and roses, especially if you’re a college student. Which Lance is. A college student who’s staring blankly at his assignment, waiting in vain for something to click. 

“Explain yourself.” He mutters to the problem. It doesn’t answer, and for some reason that makes the first tears start to pinprick Lance’s eyes. Last he checked, he’s only a couple fucked assignments from failing the stupid class. 

“Pidge, I’m dying.” He whines for the millionth time, stretches his limbs out on the couch so he can poke her with his toes. She smacks them away without looking up from her computer. 

“Oh my god! Go bother your boyfriend.” Pidge finally snaps, and Lance would be offended if he hadn’t peeked over at her computer ten minutes ago and been completely overwhelmed by the amount of equations on there. He thanks heaven above that he hadn’t hated himself enough to sign up to be an engineering major.

“Maybe I will.” Lance says. “Cause Keith actually indulges me!”

“Only cause he gets to hit that.” Pidge says, always ready with a smart ass comment even when she’s stressed.

“Leave me alone!” Lance shoots back, standing up anyway. Keith definitely does not get to hit that, but he actually might be willing to listen. Lance comes to him with stupid things all the time, and he’s kind of accepted his fate by now.

So he makes the short trek down the darkened street to Shiro and Keith’s apartment and walks right in.

“Keith’s in his room.” Shiro doesn’t even look up from his coffee. It’s been about a week since they’ve started this ruse, so Lance guesses it’s basically like old news now.

“Good to see you too.” Lance comments, before making his way to Keith’s room and opening the door. Keith sits at his desk engrossed in something on his laptop as Lance saunters in like he owns the place.

“I’m a disaster, and I’m going to never become a teacher.” Lance collapses right on Keith’s bed

“Is there a reason for that?” Keith says, sparing him a glance from his desk. He doesn’t even ask why Lance is just barging into his room unannounced, which probably means Lance shows up too much.

“I’m failing my probability and statistics class.” Lance replies, feeling the dread and panic settle over himself again. “If I can’t even do fucking probability, how can I be expected to teach kids?”

“What are you talking about?” Keith asks, and Lance almost wants to cry, which would just be embarrassing. Not that he hasn’t cried in front of Keith before, but none of those times were fun.

“Teachers are supposed to guide and be responsible and shape children’s minds, but I’m such a fucking _idiot_ -”

“Lance, you’re fucking dense.” Keith says, voice flat.

“What an effective way to kick me while I’m down. Thanks, Keith.” Lance says. “I’m so glad I came to you.”

“You’re going to be amazing teacher. Obviously.” And Keith says it with such certainty that Lance almost believes him. Almost. Up until he remembers that it’s _him_ they’re talking about.

“How do you know that?” Lance asks, rolling over on Keith’s bed to face him. Keith hasn’t even looked up from his laptop, instead glaring at the screen like it personally insulted him.

“Because, dumbass. It’s what you’re passionate about. You should see your face whenever you’re around little kids. You light up like a Christmas tree.” Keith types something into his keyboard, then finally shuts it and turns to Lance, his eyes fiery and dark. “You talk all the time about how children are the future. And you’ve got the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. You’re the only person dense enough to not see it.” 

“That’s not-”

“I’m serious. If you were my teacher, maybe I wouldn’t have turned out so fucked up.” Keith cracks a smile at that, and it feels for a moment that a fire is lit in Lance’s stomach. Keith always lit a fire inside Lance, one of his many stupid talents. He suddenly has the weird urge to rush across the room and kiss Keith. Which, what? No one was around, there was no need…

“You’re not _that_ fucked up.” Lance says, clenching his fists into the sheets as an anchor. He bats away that urge, tries to bury it deep in his brain.

“Oh please. I’m so glad you didn’t know me in high school.” Keith says. “Ask Shiro, I was the worst.”

“Shiro would never say anything bad about you, and you know it.” Lance also is having trouble thinking of anything bad anyone would say about Keith at this moment. 

“Okay, my point is, dumbass, and you care enough to make a difference in some snotty nosed kid’s life. You’ve already wormed your way into mine. And I can probably help you with probability, since I had to suffer through it last semester.” Keith says. “So, yeah. That’s it, I guess.”

“You’re dumb.” Lance says, and Keith throws an eraser at Lance’s head.

“Shut up.” Keith says, face burning red. “You-”

“But thank you.” Lance interrupts. Keith meets his eyes, and his face is so soft and gentle and _pretty_ , and the air is charged with...something. Lance needs to change the subject. Fast. “What are you writing?”

“Essay for criminology.” Keith says, and then he’s talking about his major, and how annoying some of the kids in his class are, and Lance gets to thinking about Keith.

Keith, who he met in a LGBT club freshman year, one that Shiro forced him to go to, whose pouty face and sharp tongue had immediately pissed Lance off. And started an obsession. Who had sort of melted into Lance’s group of friends, and Lance can’t remember how but now he can’t imagine his life without him.

Keith, who had drunkenly told Lance about his parents at the first party they went to, about his firefighter dad who was a little bit too brave and his mom who’s been in prison since Keith was a baby. Who spilled all about his past in the juvie system, and suddenly the degree in criminal justice started to make a little bit more sense. Who has sad eyes and walls up, but somehow threw Lance a rope to climb them, whether intentionally or not. 

Keith, who fights tooth and nail for the people he cared about. Who punched a kid in the face for making a rude comment about Hunk, who drove Pidge six hours to visit her mother when she had a sudden bout of homesickness, who always makes sure Shiro is getting enough sleep. He’s a tiger of a person, with sharp edges and a scar on his cheek Lance still hasn’t worked up the courage to ask about, and, somewhere along the way, he’s wormed his way irreversibly into Lance’s thoughts, into his life.

Oh, fuck. 

Maybe this isn’t as fake as he thought it was.


End file.
